A Peek Inside BBC Radio

Poilâne bread makes me dream of Paris . . . even though it's also sold in London.

We weren't sure exactly what plans are in store for Fitzroy Square 2.0,

but a quick glance at the Camden Council website shows that the proposed measures will make the surrounding area more pedestrian-friendly and more in keeping with neighbouring buildings. Sounds good! This next sight was barely visible in the pavement, and art imitates life here, because I found it impossible to take a photo that showed this Dostoevsky quotation more clearly than this:

Tonight's destination was BBC Broadcasting House, a brilliant building that houses BBC Radio Theatre, where we were booked in as audience members for a Radio 4 taping.

We arrived a bit early, so we walked around the neighbourhood for a while, past a sign that seemed straight out of a favourite book from my childhood, The Phantom Tollbooth, an adventure story that oozes puns and strange signs.

I liked the illustrations of this pub's namesakes,

as well as the spectacular tiling on the Langham Court Hotel.

When we returned to the entrance of Broadcasting House, there was a short queue for our recording, which we joined. Since it was our first time as audience members at a BBC Radio recording, we have no idea if tonight's course of events was normal, but there was about 90 minutes of waiting involved before the performance even started: waiting outside the building, waiting to get through security, waiting in the holding room, and waiting in the theatre. We were here for the first recording of a new comedy show, Danny Robins Music Therapy, and it turned out to be okay, but not exactly side-splittingly hilarious. The nicest part of the evening was the fact that Robins was joined by fellow comedian Issy Suttie, whom we loved on Peep Show, and who turned out to be charming and engaging in person as well. After the recording, Broadcasting House looked even more impressive glowing in the evening lights: